West Grinstead is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the

Horsham District Horsham is a local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in Horsham. The district borders those of Crawley, Mid Sussex, Mole Valley, Chichester, Arun and Adur, and the unitary authority of Brighton & Hove. ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an a ...

, England. It lies just off the B2135 road four miles (6.3 km) northwest from

Henfield Henfield is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, northwest of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester at the road junction of the A281 and A2037. The ...

. It is within the ancient division of the Rape of Bramber The western

River Adur The Adur ( or ) is a river in Sussex, England; it gives its name to the Adur district of West Sussex. The river, which is long, was once navigable for large vessels up as far as Steyning, where there was a large Saxon port, but by the 11th c ...

flows through the village. The parish of West Grinstead covers an area of 2584 hectares (6382 acres)and consists of the villages of West Grinstead, Littleworth, Partridge Green and Dial Post. In the 2001 census 2934 people lived in 1099 households, of whom 1547 were economically active. At the 2011 Census the population was 3,054 The village should not be confused with the much larger town of

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

which lies 17.5 miles (28 km) to the north-east.

Churches

The Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation dates from 1876 and is the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

parish church. It is an important centre of Catholic pilgrimage in England. Two notable figures are buried in its grounds: Anglo-French writer and poet

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. ...

(friend of fellow Catholic,

G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...

) and English writer Antonia White. St George's Church was first built circa 1100 AD and is the Anglican place of worship, and the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

parish church.

History

Knepp Castle is located to the west of the village near the A24. It was a motte castle and founded in the 12th century by William de Braose. Some remains of the keep still stand. The modern Knepp Castle nearby is a castellated mansion by John Nash.

Leisure

The Downs Link long-distance path runs through the parish and can be used for walking or cycling.

References

{{authority control Horsham District Villages in West Sussex